This article is excerpted from the Utah Eats newsletter, compiled by Kolbie Peterson, The Salt Lake Tribune’s food and drink reporter. To get the full newsletter in your inbox every Wednesday, become a subscriber by going to sltrib.com/newsletters.

Hello, Eaters!

The Salt Lake City food scene got some sad news last week, when The SugarHouse Barbeque Company announced it was closing after 26 years.

According to an Instagram post by the business, their last day open will be in mid-August. The post thanked SugarHouse Barbeque Company employees “past and present,” saying, “you helped form and create who we are and we couldn’t have done it without you.”

The post didn’t provide details about why the restaurant is closing. But when I spoke with general manager Jeff Berg, he listed more than a few, including the rising costs of food and paper products, having to constantly change their prices, struggling to pinpoint workable prices for their food, people relying on takeout platforms like DoorDash, the “volatility” of the industry, and the ongoing construction in the Sugar House neighborhood.

Berg also said that although they’ve been busy since making their announcement, business has mostly been “sporadic,” even though “summer months are generally pretty good for us.”

Berg said it was a “tough decision” to close.

“I didn’t want to wait to be forced out and have all my employees come in to a note on the door,” Berg said. “That is the last thing we wanted. So we’re closing on our terms.”

The SugarHouse Barbeque Company opened as Red Bones in 1996, right where the S Line streetcar crosses 700 East, Berg said. Red Bones was later renamed SugarHouse Barbeque Company, and after the streetcar went in, the business moved to its current location at 880 E. 2100 South.

After the move, “things were off to a great start” for a time, Berg said, “then COVID fell upon us.”

I visited SugarHouse Barbeque Company on Saturday for the first and final time. Read more about that meal in the “Dish of the Week” section of this newsletter.

Live deliciously,

Kolbie

Food News

Openings:

• A Salt Lake City location of national chicken chain Dave’s Hot Chicken is opening in Sugar House on Friday, at 777 E. 2100 South. According to the eatery’s website, Dave’s Hot Chicken started as a pop-up in a parking lot in East Hollywood and grew from there. The menu features chicken tenders and chicken tender sliders, made with spice levels that range from “no spice” to “reaper.” The restaurant’s hours are Sunday through Wednesday, 10:30 a.m. to midnight, and Thursday through Saturday, 10:30 a.m.-1 a.m.

• Three new restaurants are now open at Valley Grove, a mixed-use business community at 758 S. North County Blvd. in Pleasant Grove, according to a news release: The Great Greek Mediterranean Grill, featuring Greek mainstays like gyros, souvlaki, salads and dips; Rancherito’s Mexican Food, with a menu made up of Mexican classics like burritos, nachos and chimichangas; and Wildside Bowls, which focuses on health-centric bowls like the Purple Chia, which is a blend of organic acai, almond milk, apple juice, strawberries, bananas topped with chia pudding, strawberries, bananas, bee pollen and raw honey. Also opening in the same development, at 876 S. North County Blvd., is MilkShake Factory, a chain founded in Pittsburgh, with a menu that features handspun milkshakes, craft sundaes and gourmet chocolates.

• Fatburger and Round Table Pizza, two California-based chains, are coming to Utah for the first time, according to a news release. Twelve co-branded franchised restaurants will be built in the Beehive State over the next six years, with the first set to open in 2025, the release stated. The first Fatburger opened in Los Angeles more than 70 years ago, and became known for its cooked-to-order burgers, the release stated. Round Table Pizza was founded in 1959, and each pizza is hand-crafted with high-quality toppings and dough made from scratch, the release said.

• The new location of The Bagel Project at 1919 E. Murray Holladay Road, Holladay, is in its soft opening phase, the bagel spot announced on Instagram. Current hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Dish of the Week

For what would be my only taste of SugarHouse Barbeque Company, I wanted to get two of my favorite meats, so I got the Chicken & Ribs ($22.50). On a single tray came a third slab of signature pork ribs and a quarter Dixie chicken, with meaty barbecue beans, mashed potatoes and gravy, and a corn muffin on the side.

Before I tell you what I thought, here’s some background on SugarHouse Barbeque Company’s ‘cue: This barbecue joint specializes in Memphis-style barbecue, which is made with a custom dry rub instead of sauce and then allowed to marinate for 24 to 48 hours, said general manager Jeff Berg.

Finally, the meat is smoked slowly in hickory pits using hickory and cherry wood. Once the meat reaches peak smoky perfection, patrons can douse it in four different house-made sauces, including original barbecue, a cayenne-based hot sauce, a North Carolina vinegar sauce and a South Carolina mustard sauce.

As for my meal, my favorite parts were the ribs, the mashed potatoes and the corn muffin. The ribs had such a nice bark on them and pulled apart so easily, and I loved smearing the pieces in the original barbecue sauce. But the chicken was dry, and the beans were too meaty for me (more meat than beans). The mashed potatoes were creamy and flavorful, and that corn muffin was everything I love about cornbread: dense moistness with a touch of sweet and a touch of salt.

If you want to experience SugarHouse Barbeque Company for the first time, or just pay your respects, hurry in: They’ll be open only for about another month.

As for recommendations, definitely get the ribs. Berg said their other most popular items are the cherry-wood-smoked wings, pulled pork, Greek oven-roasted potatoes and beans.